Benihana shooter pleads guilty to reduced charges, sentenced

By BOB OLIVER Times-Herald Newspapers DEARBORN — The man accused of shooting another man inside Benihana last November has been sentenced to five years in state prison for charges related to the incident.

Darrius Greene, 29, pled guilty to the charges of discharging a firearm in or at a building, assault with a dangerous weapon and felony firearm at a final conference before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge James Callahan last month.

Callahan sentenced Green to five years in the Michigan Department of Corrections with credit being given for 216 days of time served.

Greene was originally charged with the additional counts of assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, possession of a firearm by a felon and carrying a concealed weapon but those charges were dropped as part of a plea deal from the prosecution, according to court documents.

The enhanced penalties associated with being convicted as a habitual offender — Greene was previously convicted in 2008 for receiving and concealing stolen property and third degree fleeing a police officer — were also dismissed.

The incident occurred inside Benihana, 18601 Hubbard Drive, about 9 p.m. Nov. 12, when the police said Greene entered the restaurant and approached a patron.

The two men began to argue and physically fight inside the restaurant before Greene pulled out a weapon, shot the victim and fled.

The victim, a 43-year-old Ann Arbor resident, was shot in the abdomen and taken to a local hospital where he was initially listed in stable condition.

He was later released from the hospital.

Police said at the time that their preliminary investigation indicated that the shooting was not a random act and that the men involved knew each other.

Greene turned himself in to Harper Woods police Dec. 9 and was transported to the Dearborn Police Department, where he was arraigned before 19th District Court Judge William Hultgren Dec. 10.